Touched - The Caress of Fate (Touched Saga)

This is an "updated" review and be aware it *DOES contain spoilers*I've had the opportunity to read an excerpt from the upcoming release of 'Brokenhearted' and oh God! Tears trickled down my face as I began to read it. By the time I'd finished, I had completely fallen apart. I can't imagine how horrific it would be to come face to face with the sudden loss Gemma is enduring, here in the real world. It's hard enough experiencing it with her in my alternate reality. They say some books you just read, some you enjoy, but then there are special ones that swallow you heart and soul. This saga has devoured mine.I would LOVE to begin reading Brokenhearted and find the scenario 'Unfaithful' ended with was just another of Gemma's premonition dreams. That she, along with Ginevera, Simon AND Evan used her dream-state vision as how to take Drake down. OR...at the very least, Gemma used what was revealed to her in said (my wishful) premonition dream; to ensure she'd be thinking clearly and recognize Evan by his touch, emotion, & tender loving words, so to NOT mistakenly use the poison on him.Now, knowing my "alternate beginning" isn't meant to be...I believe us die-hard fans & readers, along with Gemma, Ginevra, & Simon will come to learn that Gemma is a witch; HOPEFULLY, this will occur early in the soon to be released book! I'm pretty sure I've correctly figured out the witch part, and I believe Gemma's grandmother was also a witch. In "A Caress of Fate", I remember Gemma saying her grandmother always told her "The Mind is capable of great magic, but only if you look at things with the heart and not the eyes; it's impossible to see the magic in the world if you don't feel it first within". I'd say remembering that statement has served her very well thus far and I believe if Gemma concentrates and remains focused, she'll be able to bring Evan back because love can transcend space and time. Both she and Evan confessed even death will not keep them apart. If Gemma's powers aren't quite strong enough yet to do it alone, Ginevera, I have no doubt, will be there to help her see it through. At what cost for each of them though? I'm afraid to even consider. All I do know is that Evan MUST be brought back. Life without him is nothing but darkness. We need our Sun, Moon, and Stars. Oh, and lets not forget, redemption. 😂Everyone is going to think I've gone completely mad, but I have read all installments of the "Touched Saga" thus far (English Version) SIX times. Cover to Cover, back to back....NOT kidding. When you re-read, you pick up on things you may have overlooked the first go-round. Even after 6 times I'm sure I've still missed something. I have soooo many questions I hope will be revealed at some point before this saga concludes. Such as, what happened to the real Drake? Whose side of the family (mom or dad) did the Witches bloodline come from - OR is it random like the bloodline of the Angels of Death? Is the fate of the world (according to the Masala) really dependent on Gemma's death, or did they foresee the baby she's now carrying, and it is this that spawned the Masala's insistence that her death be carried out? A baby, conceived in love, by a Witch and an Angel of Death - will it be a Hybrid so to speak? What could the destiny of this child be? To make right all the bad in the world, and grant redemption to the Angels of Death so to they too can assume their place in Heaven OR will this child bring about mass destruction?If I didn't know better, I'd swear these books have cast a spell on me 😘. I can't seem to get past them... I keep reading and re-reading; never tiring of them. I think about the books when I'm not reading and even dream about different scenarios (future) and alternates to the ones that have already occurred.....talk about embarrassing. As much as I love books though, and I do have my favorites, I have never re-read a single one of them more than twice. Maybe its just that I see so much of myself in Gemma when I was a teen. I was a bookworm, and I too liked to escape into the woods, propped against a tree, nothing but me, a gentle breeze, and the birds....reading, I'd travel to another place in time.I am anxiously awaiting Brokenhearted, and hoping the 4th book in this series will be released in early 2017. More than anything though, I'd absolutely love to see Mrs. Amore write more books for this series, such as back-stories on Gemma's parents & the grandmother, Ginevera, & Simon, and, of course, more on our main characters (Gemma, Evan, & their baby, Ginevera, & Simon). What happens after Expiation? Where do their adventures & struggles take them? These characters now hold a special place in my heart, and I'm no where near ready to say goodbye to them.What an amazing writer, and a beautiful story...I absolutely fell in love with the Touched series and its characters. They, along with Mrs. Amore's wording, pulls readers into the book; bearing witness to every scene, every emotion, every struggle, every triumph.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that has always frustrated me to the point of disliking the bizarre association the play claims to have with love. Both lovers are impetuous teenagers who seem more in lust than love and they make rash, foolish choices. It’s hard to be sympathetic. However, there’s another way to “do” R&J—you can make it about the way in which the hatred of the two families kills their children—that interpretation is easier to reconcile. About an hour before Gemma’s fated death, there is a very definite feeling of star-crossed lovers. We’re clearly led to that comparison by a dream involving Greek myths attached to various constellations, although Evan clearly elucidates the difference between those stories and R&J.(Apropos of nothing: It would be cool if someone would do a story in which the two lovers discuss constellations using another culture’s myth—like the Diné, for example, although that wouldn’t work because a) they’re supposed to remain oral and b) they can’t be told until after the first snow fall and before Spring arrives, and so…)Anyway. Romeo and Juliet. Elisa Amore is better at the star-crossed lover bit than Shakespeare (No disrespect to Will). Unlike Romeo, Evan knows exactly what he’s up against. Although Gemma doesn’t know anything about the situation at this point, she knows her own self in a way Juliet did not. That is, Gemma is old enough, mature enough, to choose Evan. Which leaves us with the OTHER interpretation of R&J, which is that when two sides oppose each other with no give (life and death, good and evil) sometimes innocent people get caught in the middle and the righteousness associated with the dividing line becomes inflexible enough to kill them. In a way that Shakespeare never got right, and that Bella’s fascination with becoming a Vampire sometimes obscures, Evan and Gemma through Ms. Amore’s pen, fall into the liminal space between the opposing forces and it is not a very peaceful place. (To be fair, Fallen does this really well, too, and in equally unpredictable ways, in very different worlds.)Typically, in a series like this the first book is shorter than the ones that come after it. As a reader, we can only stand so much world building and character development before we want something to happen and then a resolution. Touched is unusually long in part because things come to a head not even quite half way through the book and the resolution is not a short-but-intense-battle in a ballet studio (Twilight) or a graveyard (Fallen). It’s more like Breaking Dawn (Twilight) which peaks with the birth of Renésmee (worst character name ever) and resolves with Bella’s transition to a vampire, but then builds back to peak at the battle. You can get away with that when you’re writing the conclusion to a series (see also the ever-thickening Harry Potter books), but that’s a lot to ask of a reader new to a series.And, it’s my only complaint. I'll be reading the next in the series tomorrow.P.S. After you’re done reading the book, can we talk about the apparent danger/salvation dialectic of being around large 4-wheeled vehicles when there’s a paranormal being crushing on you?

The love ❤️ story the devastation the sadness this book made me feel so many different emotions!!!! A love story with so many things being thrown at them… . I can’t wait to start book 2, after this review…I definitely recommend this book m it starts with a great hook, then slows down for a few chapters then dragged me in and I couldn’t put this book down.

Reading this book I got very strong “ Fallen “ book serier vibe…The books was very booting for my taste, till the end I couldn’t understand their obsession with each other, they hardly spend time with each other and become completely obsessed and Inlove , I was waiting for explanation that maybe they are meant to be soul mates or something but none of that happened, probably was left for other book, unfortunately without the explanation, their feelings didn’t make sense to me.Also there was no explanation why she could’ve see him or hear his mind in her head and similar.Whole book was pretty boring and dragged , this was first book in long time that I couldn’t wait to finish faster, so I couldn’t just put it down and forget.There’s hardly anything going on in book about them being obsessed with each other. There’s even no proper love story as most of book they hardly interacts.Will definitely won’t be continuing with following books.

I first tried to read this and could get 3-4 pages in before I wanted to shoot myself. It was written in a very poor third person that attempted to be deep and meaningful but I found to be little more than annoying and pretentious. The subject material conveyed was uncomfortable and not something I would be happy with a YA reading. I resolved to read no further.Two days later, I figured I'd give it another try and see if I'd just been in a mood. I started reading again and the author switched to First Person. They were a little more capable with this particular tense, so I figured I had been wrong with my previous impression. Unfortunately it continued to annoy. The word choices were annoying. The plot points raised were an attempt to be epic in the way that only a 13 year old boy or girl thinks that what they know and think is epic.It essentially read as if the author had bottled up all the annoying emotional angst and tedium of a teenager and allowed it to dictate what was on the page.All in all, I got 10 pages in and couldn't force myself to go any further. Perhaps it's more readable for a 13 yr old... but as for me, I returned the book back to amazon for a refund as I consider it unreadable.

I don't even know where to begin. I'm a big fan of Cassandra Clare and have struggled to find other authors who really grip me and pull on my heart but this book did just that. Every time I picked up my kindle the rest of the world faded away. I fell deeper and deeper into the book with each page I read. I found myself taking every opportunity I could to open my kindle and continue reading, convincing myself I would only read a few more pages only to find out it was already 2am. I am a 19 year old with ME/CFS so have very restless nights and lots of pain but somehow this book allowed me to escape that. I left my world and jumped head over heals into the story even if it was only until I forced myself to back into reality. I Thank the author greatly for that.From how the book is written I felt that I wasn't just reading about Gemma I felt like a was her. I understood her insecurities and found similarities in my own. I found the first few chapters a bit confusing and I couldn't predict Evans intentions, whether he was following Gemma to toy with her emotions or whether his feelings displayed in her dreams were true but I longed to keep on reading taking myself on a roller coaster of emotion. When the chapters changed to Evans point of view lot's of my questions were answered. Part of me wanted to scream at him, telling him to whisk her off her feet and hold her tight but when I discovered that it was quite literally a matter of life and death and that he was the one sentenced to kill her I had tears in my eyes. The way he had to fight against his duty for his love tormented me making my heart melt. I usually don't like books written from a mans point of view but this book his changed my perception completely. Evans thoughts spoke of everything any girl longs to hear. the way he fights for Gemma even without really knowing her or why he feels so drawn to her made me understand his pain.The fact that Angels are written in a new light really intrigued me. The fact their duty holds them captive made me want to set them free. The way their powers are able to control others and bring mundane lives to their ends in some terrifying ways rather than a peaceful passing shocked me. leaving me considering how they go through each day taking lives without being overwhelmed by guilt and regret. As Evan explained the stories of Eve and how God vowed to punish her children for eternity made me feel sorry for them, even Faust. I'm curious to know how Evan died and why he was chosen to become and Angel of death?When it comes to peter I wished maybe he would have truly told her exactly how he feels and fought harder for her. I thought that at prom he might of made a move but the jealousy that consumed him made me understand why her kept his distance.I loved every part of the story. The way it is beautifully described painted a clear picture in my mind leaving me dreaming about the possible outcomes. When Evan realised Gemma was missing from his home I was stunned I would have never predicted that. At multiple point of the book I was convinced she was truly going to die. I found my self panicked at the thought of her death and the pain it would cause. During the part where They where being chased my the red car my heart was in my throat, I felt the fear Gemma did and found it impossible to put the book down without knowing the outcome.The way Evan visited Gemmas dreams warmed my heart, his inability to keep his distance and prevent her fate proves that love has no limits and will always be their to fight until the very end.This book will always hold a special place in my heart. As someone who hope's to one day be an author this book has deeply inspired me allowing me to dream that one day I can write a book that touches the hearts of others in the way this book touched mine. I finished it not even an hour ago and I have already purchased the next. I am excited to know how long Gemma can avoid her fate and whether anyone she loves will becomes entangled with her suffering.

Too long. I think it was trying to be a bit clever, but it came across extremely confusing and boring. I had to re-read parts as I just wasn't into it. Skimmed over the last 6 chapters and I really don't think I missed anything exciting.Sorry won't be reading the rest of the series 1.5*

"What are you willing to sacrifice when the only person who can save you is the same one who has to kill you?Gemma and Evan.... A forbidden love. Doomed from the start."He looked like an angel, yes, but one of darkness"I have so much love for this story, from start to finish I was intrigued. Evan and Gemma reminded me of "Edward and Bella" from the Twilight series. And "Romeo and Juliet"There was quite a few freaky bits that made me shiver.And I swear I was having palpitations over Evan and Gemma's fate!I loved Evan and his beautiful charm. His way with words got me every time.A really good read. Can't wait to get my hands on book 2.5*****If you love reading about angels and romance, this is the book for you.